Any business that deals with clients enter into a legal agreement at any time during the tenure.
If you are not aware of the hold harmless agreement, then you are more likely to be vulnerable to unnecessary charges from the client at any time in the future.
Well, you do not need legal help to draft your agreement first as it is easy to incorporate your business information in an existing template and use it for your services or products.
In this article, you will understand how a hold harmless agreement works and potential templates to use for your business RIGHT AWAY.
Professional hold harmless agreement templates
A hold harmless agreement indicates a clause included within a contract indicating the liability associated with each party.
It indicates that the entity is not responsible for any damages that the party is undergoing.
The entity uses this opportunity to secure its image and remain risk-free so it does not have to receive blames for any sort of problems.
This is much needed in the real estate industry as well as the sports industry just like a proof of funds letter.
1. Risk acknowledgment hold harmless agreement
The following template is meant to inform potential risk associated with the business to the customer and then seek consent for the same.
The form collects information such as state where the agreement is made, names of party, and the law that both parties are abiding to.
The grant permission section can be appended with evidence for both sides mainly to strengthen the claim similar to an independent contractor invoice template.
2. Basic hold harmless agreement
If you are looking out for an easy to use agreement with basic terms understandable to both parties, this template is the one to go.
This agreement is related to service provision. This template turns out to be extra useful when you are engaging in a real-estate project where you may have to offer services or take consent from the authority, similar to these release of lien forms.
3. Hold harmless affidavit
The purpose of this template is to certify an individual or an entity to remain harmless in a business transaction like a release of lien form texas.
The biggest advantage of this template is that it covers exceptions and you can also add any specific notes pertaining to the project.
This freedom to use information effectively makes the transaction transparent.
4. Education hold harmless template
If you are an educational institution, you may need to issue hold harmless agreement especially for research works.
Your agreement should necessarily include terms that are technically appropriate and clarify any sort of copyright issues.
The best part is that there are local laws that you can include in the template to govern the transaction between a student and a faculty within the University.
5. Hold harmless agreement letter
Not all agreements need to look like legal notes. It can appear in the form of a letter as well addressing the recipient.
This simplifies the record-keeping process.
Being a one-page template, it allows the office to customize fields and also provide spaceholders for witnesses to consent with the process.
6. Civil hold harmless agreement template
The following template holds well for public institutions such as government authorities.
It is a detailed, editable template including local regulations, entities involved, contact information, and exceptions involved in the process.
When you are dealing with permitting an entity, you may have to issue hold harmless certificate and take consent from the other party so that you are safer.
7. Field trip hold harmless form
Hold harmless form is not just meant for service-oriented firms.
It also applies well for events including field trips where the organizer needs to take consent from the participant and his/her family to escape from unforeseen circumstances.
There are two sections of this template – information relating to field trip followed by collection of hold harmless consent and emergency contact information.
8. Hold harmless agreement for schools
Schools generally deal with a lot of unexpected events including accidents.
It is always a better choice to take consent from parents or guardian for specific classes or events.
The purpose of this consent form is to enable the institution to stay away from blames and achieve business continuity.
9. Hold harmless agreement for property
Here is a template that is appropriate if you are working in a public authority like housing regulation.
This template is meant to address areas like legal description of the concern, cancellation of permit, and inspection information.
At any instance, it is important to issue this agreement for the other party to provide consent and avoid charges against you for any mishaps in the process.
10. Sample waiver and hold harmless agreement
Agreements need not be lengthy. Following is a template that takes consent from both parties in the process.
There are two ways to improve this template further – provide a list of exceptions and educate the party about the responsibilities, and improve the look and feel to match the business or purpose of the agreement.
11. Simple hold harmless affidavit
Whether you are a logistics firm or a service-based firm dealing with properties, you should always indicate your responsibilities and stress on the point that you hold harmless if at all any property is damaged.
Mentioning the law along with the state it adheres to is sufficient to let this template hold.
Things to know about hold harmless agreement
A hold harmless agreement tends to remain unilateral or reciprocal based on the situation. For instance, unilateral agreement holds for single party and provides a list of liabilities that the party holds.
On the other hand, a reciprocal agreement agrees that both parties are liable for losses with certain exceptions that are detailed in the agreement.
The best part about using this agreement is that you do not have to be accountable for mishaps caused by the other party. You are free from debts.
Before you start using this agreement for your business, you need to be aware of a few points.
- The agreement needs to be detailed enough and should cover losses that are likely and exceptions when parties hold liability.
- It is advisable to take a legal opinion before you use it for a particular business entity. Sometimes, law conflicts can occur affecting the trustworthiness of the agreement.
- The agreement needs to provide a description of amenities or compensation if you are giving a shared liability. This is extremely useful if you are running a high-risk business like amusement park where accidents are common.
- A biased agreement never holds. It should be drafted from the mutual perspective. Insurance limits should also be taken into consideration so that liabilities are discharged appropriately.
- Always include an option for the other party to reach you out if at all there is a claim to be made. For instance, the agreement can include a glossary, indemnification, enforcement, insurance, cooperation, duration, amendment, and claim notice.
Conclusion
The key to a hold harmless agreement is a content that is unbiased, complete, and authorized by a legal expert as per the local law. Using one of the templates listed in this article helps you, as a business owner, in creating the draft of the agreement and reaching out to a legal expert during final stages. This saves time and also guarantees accuracy of the agreement.
Not to forget, append validity of the agreement so there are no concerns about it later. Also, before you go, here are some reading log templates if you are dealing with a lot of documents.
